Few subjects are as all-encompassing as our heritage and few play such an overarching role in our society, whether we realise it or not.
Heritage is all around us, yet we often take so much of it for granted.
Persuading us to think about what our heritage is and reminding us that it is all around us are the principal purposes of Heritage Week, which celebrates everything from traditional music to storytelling, the preservation of old agricultural methods, education, architecture and much, much more in between.
Organisations like the Office of Public Works own and manage some of the country's most splendid and visited historical sites, but many aspects of our wider heritage are often preserved by voluntary groups, which encourage us to take more notice of the richness of that heritage.
Nationwide’s Donal Byrne has been to Sligo, a county replete with rich heritage - from the ancient to the relatively modern - to visit two Office of Public Works sites.
First, he visits Sligo Abbey, founded by the Dominican Order in the 13th century.
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Donal then delves into the way our ancestors began their settlement of Sligo’s sorrounding countryside some 6,000 years ago.
How they introduced farming there is one of his surprise discoveries.
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The Heritage Council points out that heritage "is fragile" and needs constant protection and development.
The Strandhill guild of the Irish Countrywomen’s Association have known that for a long time.
That is why they stepped in to save and preserve an original thatched cottage for their own and future generations.
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